Sleep Starve
by LizIsCola
Summary: Emil lives in a world where nightmares aren't his enemy, it's sleep itself. There are only tree rules to the sleep starve. Don't fall asleep. Don't complain. And lastly, don't. Get. Caught. HongIce, DenNor and SuFin.
1. Chapter 1

"Emil."

He kept his head down. He heard a sigh and winced slightly; it seemed as if that's all anyone had been doing since they'd gotten there. Sighing and pacing. Pacing had made an appearance almost immediately, and Berwald had had to tell Lukas to sit down. Of course, being the stubborn man he was, Lukas had disregarded this and was currently continuing his trek around the room.

Now, you're probably confused right now.

God knew he was.

But Emil didn't really know what was going on right now, either.

So let's back up a little bit. To this morning, perhaps? ... No, that wasn't far enough. Let's go back to the night before. Yes, that seems accurate.

The previous night, Emil could have never guessed that the next twenty-four hours would transform his life into his own personal living hell. They were gathered around the table, the five of them. He and Lukas, along with his brother's boyfriend, Mathias, and two of their friends from school, Tino and Berwald. Tino and Berwald were also dating, leaving Emil to be the only one in their group who was still single.

Not that he minded not having a boyfriend or a girlfriend; it was just that he wished the others would drop it and stop teasing him about it. And maybe... Maybe it did get a little lonely, sometimes... But that was beside the point! He didn't need to have a partner, the others just needed to be less annoying. That was all.

Anyways, to the point. While Tino chattered on to Berwald (probably something about his dog, he wasn't exactly listening anymore), Emil sat quietly at the table. There was a rule that he couldn't leave the table until he had been excused, something that he absolutely detested but abided by anyways, and Lukas was currently talking to Mathias. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but it looked important, so...

He was stuck until they finished their conversation.

He did have an idea of what they were discussing, though. Emil knew that it was their anniversary soon, and he also knew that Mathias was planning a date for tomorrow night at one of the more expensive restaurants in town. Which he'd been saving up to be able to take his brother out to for a long time. Because one year anniversaries are important like that.

Apparently.

Even though he hadn't a clue as to why they were so important.

But that's not important right now.

That slot would have to go to the reason that they were currently sitting around, sighing and the works while Tino tried to convince Lukas to sit down.

Which I will now get back to. (Okay? :D)

Later that night, after Tino and Berwald had gone back to their homes and his brother and Mathias were curled up on the couch (which was sort of a rare sight in itself; he'd been tempted to take pictures for future blackmail purposes), Emil had cast one look at them and retreated to his room. To promptly fall onto his bed, content to simply sleep the night away. Of course, as soon as the thought of sleep entered his mind, the sleepy haze he'd been feeling disappeared completely.

Frowning, he sighed (the first of many in his near future, as Emil would learn roughly eighteen hours later) and pulled his laptop towards himself. If he couldn't sleep, why not see what people on the Internet were up to? Seemed logical to him. He'd done all of his homework, finished all of the books he had currently checked out of the public library, and Emil certainly didn't want to go downstairs to Lukas, Mathias, and whatever romantic movie- "No, Emil, they're not chick flicks!"- they'd put in. That was his definition of punishment, and he couldn't remember anything he'd done recently to make him deserve that. So downstairs was a no.

But the Internet was approved by his mind. So that's what he did for the next five hours or so, which put the time at three a.m. At which point, he promptly turned off his computer, changed, and brushed his teeth. With a quick peek downstairs to confirm that his brother would be staying there, as he had fallen asleep (which Emil did take a picture of. Brother or not, mercy is not something he could spare more than once a day), Emil was definitely ready for bed. In fact, he was beyond ready for some sleep.

And yet, when he laid down, he again couldn't sleep. But Emil was determined to get to bed. He figured that his body would take over soon and allow him to rest.

He laid awake for a long, long time.

**Hey, guys! So here I am, writing my first Hetalia story! ^0^ Let alone one about the Nordics. XD Anywho, thanks for reading! Please, drop a review, I'd love it muy much!**

**Edit: Thank you to readingpower for having me fix the spacing! Yeah, my computer is weird and screwed it up so... yeah thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here we go with chapter two! I'd like to thank you all (even though there's about three of you XD) for reading, and yeah!**

The next morning was an onslaught of irritation for Emil. It seemed as if he couldn't catch a single break.

First, his _dear_ older brother decided to throw a bucket of icy water over him to wake him up that morning, which resulted in him having to completely dismantle his bed so it could dry out.

Next, as he'd been running late after that, Emil had had to skip breakfast in order to get to the bus stop in time. Despite that, he nearly missed the bus and spent the ride awkwardly sitting next to a very loud, obnoxious albino who insisted that he must be 'copying his awesome look'. Emil in no way appreciated that comment and opted to ignore him to the best of his ability.

When they finally got to school, he was scolded by the teachers for his sloppy appearance. Again, he held his tongue, because the last time he'd mouthed off to a teacher... Well, it involved a very awkward conversation between him, Emil, and Lukas.

And when he got to his first period class, he found that he'd left his folder at home, which meant that he had a zero for every homework assignment due that day. Joy. And since his classmates were all very loud and annoying, he'd also gained a headache that grew worse throughout the morning.

By the time that lunch break rolled around, he was none too pleased. Then again, he hadn't been pleased to even get out of his bed that morning, so it wasn't as if it were a huge surprise. But still, when Emil slumped over to their normal table, it definitely didn't help his mood. By 'their', he meant his, Lukas, Mathias, Tino, and Berwald's table. Sometimes one of Tino's friends, Eduard, came to sit with them, but not often.

He happened to be the first one there that day, which Emil appreciated slightly. Emil laid his head on the table, using his arms as a cushion, content to enjoy the silence while it presented itself.

Unfortunately, the quiet was short lived.

Berwald and Tino arrived, then Mathias not too long afterwards. Mathias immediately started talking animatedly with Tino while Berwald looked on indifferently. Emil raised is head and glared weakly at him, but his gaze went unnoticed. As their conversation progressed, his glare got more intense, yet it still went unnoticed. As soon as he sat down, Lukas raised an eyebrow at his brother. Sure, it wasn't that much of a stretch for Emil to be in a bad mood, or even sulking, but he'd never been so... snappish. After ten minutes or so of the others trying to engage him in conversation, Lukas was quite fed up with Emil's attitude.

"What, hormones acting up today?"

Emil turned towards Lukas slowly. It seemed as if he were busy processing what he'd said, but also trying to control himself. Because Lukas remembered the last time Emil had lost his temper, and the memory still brought a faint smirk to his face. Which was something that made his brother's blood boil.

Emil blew air through his teeth in irritation, ignoring his brother. He replaced his head on his arms.

Lukas frowned. That wasn't what he'd hoped to accomplish. He'd hoped that Emil would snap out of it, or even snap at him so that Lukas could show him that he was acting childish, but he hadn't. "You're acting like the child you're always telling us you aren't," he muttered to himself.

Emil had heard him, and his shoulders tensed. He muttered something resembling 'shut up' into his arms, trying his hardest to contain himself. It wasn't easy, because for once Lukas seemed to be attempting to get him to snap. Well Emil wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

By the end of the period, Emil was no longer sulking in his arms, but instead glaring down at the table top. Tino and Berwald had long since noticed the youngest Nordic's bad mood and left him alone. Lukas had also stopped talking to him after his initial comments, which, while not annoying Emil further, wasn't really helping.

Unfortunately, Mathias did not have these important observation skills, and was continuously pushing his buttons. As he'd already been choked by Lukas that period for bothering him, Mathias had turned his attention to Emil. Currently, he was poking the other's shoulder, trying to get him to pay attention to him. "Hey. Emil. Emil. Emil. Heeeeey! Emil. Pay attention!"

Emil's eye twitched. Normally, he would've calmly told Mathias to stop and leave him alone by now. But today, Emil wasn't feeling quite that generous. Today, his tolerance levels were already trampled to sublevels. His eye began twitching. Tino noticed this and shifted nervously. He, too, remembered the last time that Emil had gotten that mad, and let's just say, it wasn't pretty.

As Mathias continued to drive his younger brother insane, Lukas sighed and pinched his nose. This was going to be bad.

Berwald was amused, though he seemed to be indifferent from his appearance. He was always up for a show, especially one involving Mathias.

And, none too surprisingly, Emil snapped. One particularly hard jab made his eye twitch particularly noticeably, and he went off.

Now, there were several different ways for Emil to express anger or annoyance. The first was close to how he was now, to become very uptight and snappish. Another was that he'd fly completely off the handle, yelling and sometimes even hitting. The most common was that he'd bottle up his emotions until he was alone, and then deal with them by himself. This time, he seemed to decide to carry on with the first option.

"Stop. Touching. Me." Emil snapped. His eyes narrowed further, and if looks could kill, Mathias would have long since been six feet under.

Mathias paled and pulled his hand back quickly, eyes wide.

Emil huffed and stood up, throwing away his lunch (which he hadn't touched at all) and stomping out of the cafeteria just as the bell rang.

The others sat for a few moments in stunned silence, which was broken by- you guessed it- Mathias. "What's his problem?"

Tino shrugged and Lukas remained silent, thinking.

"Maybe he didn't appreciate you being extra annoying today." Berwald mused dryly.

"Hey!"

**Sort of a lame ending... But can you really blame me?! The Water Horse is playing on my TV... I feel inclined to watch. Anyways, I would really love some help with the Nordics... Wait, that sounds wrong. Oh well. How did you guys think I did with writing them? I'm trying to stay as in character as possible, but I'd love feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I feel like writing again. Not sure how far I'll get before I become uninspired, but hopefully I'll be able to finish it. By the way, I'm currently on Spring Break, so hopefully updates will be quick before school- and track- starts back up. **

**Also, random note that I sort of find funny: when I was writing the first chapter, I was listening to Spamano songs. xD I dunno why, but I was. And last chapter, I actually listened to Iceland songs, so it made sense, but now I'm listening to Spamano again. (Wow long and pointless author's note, yay.) **

**To reviewers (because I forgot in the last chapter):**

**readingpower (chapter one): Thanks, and thanks. ^/^ Yeah, sorry about that. I'm still trying to figure this website out, y'know? It's very different from Wattpad.**

**themostprofoundchild(chapter one): Of course I am! :O How could I not? Poor Emil needs Kaoru, his night in shining armor! xD But really, sorry about that. It must've seemed as though I wasn't going to, with the way I ended that.**

**FlightyMighty15: Are you sure? Because I've never written a Hetalia story before (I have written a couple of (probably very bad) one shots on Wattpad, but I've never actually written a story. And I started my writing off with a character that isn't in the anime very much, yet. XD Nice job, self. Anyways, thank you. And I hope I can continue to update this quickly, but this speed may only be temporary.**

**Dalasport: Thanks! ^-^ This idea has been kicking around in my head for a long, long time, so I had a little trouble trying to keep the summary short and simple. That's better than long, right? I'm not sure... Anyways, I'm glad you're excited. I promise, Kaoru will come in soon!**

**And with that incredibly lengthy author's note, on to the story!**

At the last class of the day, Emil had cooled off somewhat.

Sure, it was true that he was still very aggravated, but his bad mood had diminished enough that he wasn't snapping at anyone who dared to look his way.

Said last class, English, was usually his favorite. But today, the teacher decided that they didn't need to do actual work and had sentenced the class to read an excerpt of Moby Dick. He'd given some grand explanation of why he'd chosen that book (apparently it was a very good read) and, despite the fact that Emil loved this class, he found himself nodding off almost immediately.

He sat up straighter when he noticed this, furious with himself. He'd nearly fallen asleep in class! What a fine conversation that would be, once Lukas found out. Emil shook himself a little, ignoring the curious look he got from a boy across the isle, going back to his book.

Emil's attempts were futile, however, as he found himself falling asleep again within minutes. He continued to attempt to plow through his book with little success. He blinked his eyes furiously, getting incredibly frustrated with himself for being so tired. He should've known better than to stay up so late. Emil sighed. There wasn't anything he could do about it now, other than fight to stay awake.

It seemed that he'd just adjusted his position to be more comfortable when suddenly, he felt as if he were falling. His eyes snapped open as he jumped, then promptly jumped again.

For, much to his misfortune, he had indeed fallen asleep. Many of the students were looking over and snickering, and Emil felt his face start to heat up. The teacher himself stood by his desk, hands on his hips. His name was Mr. Dickson, and he was a generally cheerful, understanding man with a temper to rival his own, when it made a rare appearance. But apparently bad moods were contagious that day, because it looked as if Emil had caught Mr. Dickson in one of his infamous bouts of angst.

"Have a nice nap?"

Emil winced as his classmates resumed their snickering. Mr. Dickson stood over him, glowering unhappily. "U-uh..." He said intelligently, scolding himself as his classmates continued to laugh.

His blush reddened at this. They were laughing! At him! His teacher rolled his eyes and handed him a slip of paper before whipping around and snarking at the class. "And? Get back to work!"

Emil glanced down at the slip in his hand and winced. Just as he'd feared; detention, from two thirty to five. Just his luck, too, as today he knew that both his brother and Mathias (who were the only ones in their group with cars) wouldn't be able to pick him up. And even if they had been able to, he wasn't so sure he wanted them to. A car ride home from a detention with Lukas would mean a long, overblown rant in which his brother would manage to bring up every fault Emil had ever had.

While a car ride home with Mathias would mean a very awkward conversation or none at all, as the taller blond had no experience with discipline. It wasn't his responsibility, anyways. That place of honor was given to Lukas, as he was his legal guardian, much to Emil's dismay. Sometimes he really just wanted to smack the superior look off his older brother's face.

But returning to the manner at hand, getting a ride home would be tricky. Perhaps he could lie to Lukas and say that there was a club meeting that he'd forgotten- no, that wouldn't work. Emil took part in none of the clubs at school, and Lukas knew it. Their whole group knew it, and most of the school knew it, too. Because he was Emil Steilsson, the reserved (yet hot-tempered), socially impaired, and weird exchange student from Iceland.

Maybe he could say he had to catch up on some work or had a project to work on... His internal debate eventually reached a conclusion. Emil would have to tell Lukas that he had to work on a report for science (which was a real assignment, but he'd long since finished it) in the school's library. Weak excuse or not, it was better than none.

To say that Lukas was not happy when Emil brought this up to him was an understatement. He was, in fact, very annoyed, though it would take someone who knew him like Emil did to figure it out. He replied with a brash 'fine' when he'd told him, and then immediately left the school building.

To be fair, Emil knew he'd been pushing it and it had been just before the buses left that he'd caught the elder. Still, Emil didn't think that Lukas had needed to be so snippy; it was just some mushy, gushy date. They could afford to be five minutes late, couldn't they? Apparently not, if his brother's reaction was anything to go off of.

Sigh. Tino would probably tell him that he'd understand when he was older. Emil scoffed. What was there to understand? He really, really didn't understand love. Then again, did Lukas? Hitting his boyfriend and calling his an idiot or a moron all the time didn't sound very loving to him.

Woah. He shook his head. Since when did he think deeply about his brother's relationship? Or romance at all? ... Well, Emil would be lying through his teeth if he said that there hadn't been a definite increase of that topic in his thoughts recently. He'd even been checking more romance books out of the library lately- what?! Every once in a while he'd see a book that interested him, and it just so happened to be a romance novel, that was all!- , and he'd been pondering it in random moments, like now.

Maybe he was subconsciously trying to tell himself something. But what? Emil grit his teeth in frustration and rolled his eyes. He was being ridiculous. There was no secret message hidden inside his thoughts, he was just going through a phase. _A phase that will end very soon_, he assured himself as he walked down the hall to serve his detention.

**Can I just say that I love Romano's Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Jeez, I just updated and here I am, writing another chapter! Gosh, I updated twice today already. Heh. I guess I won't post this until tomorrow then. NOT THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO REALIZE THE DIFFERENCE. XD And yes, I'm still listening to Romano's Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo... I have no idea why! Apparently Spamano and just Romano in general helps me channel Emil. xD What do you guys think? **

**Also, if anyone knows the date of Norway's and Denmark's unification... It'd be appreciated, because I can't find it! **

**At least in this chapter it finally connects back to the first. Oh! How could I forget?! (Again.) I don't own Hetalia! Nor have I for the past three chapters. **

**To reviewers:**

**Miss Akiyata: ... OH LAWD, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU REVIEWED ON MY STORY! I love yours so much and I can't even- Just- Oh my gosh! *ahem* Anyways, thank you so much for your review! Yes, that's what I was aiming for. (But seriously I'm squealing right now.)**

One very long, very boring detention later, Emil stood outside the school impatiently. Lukas had said that he'd be there at five, and here he was, still standing in front of the school at five fifteen.

When his brother's car finally pulled up to the building, Emil entered it easily. It may have still been early September, but it got cold at night. Once inside, he blinked. Lukas wasn't driving the car, Mathias was. "Er- hi," he said awkwardly. Not only was Emil a naturally awkward person, but Mathias insisted on acting as an annoying older brother- which was something Emil already had. Add in the fact that he'd almost literally hissed at him earlier and he was now interrupting what was supposed to be a date with his brother and Emil was feeling three times as awkward as usual.

"Hello," Mathias greeted. He seemed distracted, which was fine with Emil, as long as he was focused enough to drive safely.

"Where's Lukas? I thought that he was going to pick me up."

"He was," Mathias agreed. "But I dropped him off at the restaurant so that he could get our reservation before it was cancelled or something."

"On. Right." He fiddled with his hands. "Sorry about that..."

Mathias shook his head, opening his mouth to respond. At that moment, Emil's phone started ringing. He blushed a little, sending an apologetic look to Mathias before groaning. Why was Lukas calling him now?! He answered the call wearily and before he could even say hello, his brother's voice hissed out through the speaker.

"Do you know who I just got off the phone with?"

Emil froze. Lukas sounded pissed. As in, more pissed than he was when he usually chewed Emil out. Lukas generally didn't get mad often. Well, not mad enough to actually express it. And when he did, it was usually over something Emil did, intentional or not. It could be over something as simple as him forgetting to do his chores or if he was out past his curfew.

Lukas did not wait for a response. "I just had a very interesting call from your English teacher. Care to explain?"

Emil wasn't stupid enough to fan the flames of his brother's fury, so he did. He explained how after everyone else had left the house and settled down for the night, he hadn't been able to sleep. So, he'd stayed up until the wee hours of the morning before he finally caught a wink of sleep. He knew that Lukas wasn't just mad about his detention, so he tried to explain what had gotten him into such a bad mood that morning, too.

When he finished, he held his breath. While he resented the fact that Lukas was technically in charge of him, he didn't want to enrage him further. Mathias threw him a pitying look over his shoulder, as is he could read what was going through Emil's mind.

"I see." Lukas' tone was calmer, but if Emil had expected any sympathy from him, he certainly wasn't going to get any. "You're grounded."

"I- What?" He spluttered.

"You're grounded." Lukas repeated, irritation seeping back into his voice. "And you'll stay that way until further notice."

"But Lukas!" Emil protested. "It was an honest mistake, come on!"

The two argued for the next ten minutes before it started to escalate. It wasn't often that the two of them fought, but when they did, it was always drawn out and loud. And now that Lukas was in rant-mode, Emil knew that he wouldn't be able to get another word in until the very end, if he was lucky. Often times he wasn't.

Eventually, Mathias took pity on Emil. Well, it was either that or he was probably tired of hearing the two of them argue. Emil was willing to put money on the second option, but, unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to have a job. Thanks, Lukas.

When Emil tuned back in, Lukas was now scolding Mathias. For what, Emil wasn't quite sure, but it seemed like he'd attempted to tell Lukas that enough was enough. Which never went over well with Lukas, as he was very much like a teenage girl in some ways. A small smirk tugged at his mouth. Yes, Lukas was very feminine sometimes. He had to be right all the time and if he thought he looked bad then he'd be in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

A soft snort escaped him as he imagined his brother as a girl. Mathias looked at him like he'd gone insane, and sadly, Lukas was not deaf. "Do you find this funny, Emil?" He demanded. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did; you've always been weird."

Emil recoiled from his phone. To most, being called weird, especially by a sibling (an older one, at that) wouldn't have been a problem. If Emil was normal and had a normal sibling relationship, he would've laughed and thrown back an insult. But he wasn't and he didn't. He was very touchy on being considered and called abnormal, and Lukas knew that. He knew, because that was one of the only things that Emil had ever been able to bring himself to confide in him.

And he knew now that that was a big mistake.

Apparently, Mathias was not as much of an air head as he seemed, because he seemed to again be able to tell exactly what Emil was thinking. "Lukas," he said quietly.

"Don't 'Lukas' me! He knows it, don't you Emil?"

Emil's eyes watered. Of course he knew. How could he miss it? It wasn't like he was oblivious; in fact, he was painfully aware of the fact that he was anything but normal. He dressed oddly (out of school, that is. They had a uniform.), his accent was weird, and he never socialized with anyone. He was isolated even within his own family and friends. Did Lukas think he hadn't noticed it?

Emil caught Mathias' eye in the rear view mirror as he responded. His eyes showed sympathy, something Emil hated very, very much. "And you wonder why I refuse to call you 'big brother'," he whispered, clutching his backpack to himself tightly.

"Emil," his brother said softly after a small moment of silence. It seemed like he was about to say something important, but of course, he never got the chance to. Because at that moment, fate struck, as cliche as it seems. As Lukas was about to respond, there was a very loud poping noise. The car spun and Mathias yanked at the wheel, but it was no use. They hit another car, which in turn crashed into another, then another, and another, until the entire street was nothing but a big pile of cars.

To a bystander, it would have looked like Matchbox cars when a child had strewn them haphazardly across the room.

**Fun fact: I made two paper bracelets while writing this chapter. Edit: I was listening to Eh? Ah, Annoying. while finishing this chapter. Seems fitting, kinda. And now that I read through this again, I fear that it is, once again out of character. But I feel like Norway would be the type of person who can't stop once they get themselves worked up, don't you?**

**If you guys want to see a certain thing in this story, leave a review and I'll try to work it in!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ciao, everyone! So I went to the AMC theatre yesterday with my sisters and grandparents, and we watched Rio 2. It was fun.**

**To reviewers:**

**FlightyMighty15: I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a tad bit obsessed with it... That and Alfr Helt, Always With You, and With Love From Iceland. And as you've seen, Romano's character songs as well. *wistful sigh* If only I could get them on my phone. XD Thanks, this actually makes me feel a lot better.**

**themostprofoundchild: I make no promises on Mathias, though as you can see, Emil is relatively unharmed. (Foooooor now. XD) I have quit a few ideas that would work well here, though I haven't quite settled on one. Yes, I was aware that it ended up sounding as though Lukas was there, but once I did, I was really just too lazy to go back and fix the entire chapter after I'd just written it, you know? I'll eventually get both that and the phone thing fixed, thank you for pointing them out! You're welcome, I'm happy and thankful that you continue to review! And thanks. ^-^**

**Miss Akiyata: Eheh, sorry about that, I just got really, really excited because you're such a great writer and you're saying that you like _my_ writing and I don't even know why! :D Thanks. I'm glad I was able to make you smile. *nods* Lukas can be very mean, but he's really just trying his best to look out for Emil. And, again... I make no promises. :D**

All this had happened the previous day. Now, around eighteen hours after the start of it all, the clock in the waiting room showed that it was well past midnight. Three figures stood out in the dismal room, mostly because they all looked alike and had odd personalities. They were talking quietly in the corner when Emil was lead back by a nurse.

The others were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice him until he and the nurse were standing right beside them. There was a bright green cast on his left arm, and Emil had been told that he'd need to wear it for about two months in order for the bone to heal properly. Tino nudged Lukas when he noticed the two of them standing there. As Lukas went to talk with the nurse (presumably to see if he could get any information about Mathias out of her) Tino fussed over him, ignoring Emil's claims that he was fine.

Eventually, Lukas returned to the small group. Emil had since then sat down and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Lukas spoke quietly with Tino and Berwald, attempting to work out who would stay and who, if anyone, would go. "Take Emil home," he insisted. "He might not end up at school tomorrow, but he still needs to rest."

"But so do you," Berwald pointed out.

He shook his head. "I don't deny it, but he didn't sleep last night, either." Lukas looked at Tino pleadingly. "Please, just take him home, or to your house. He doesn't need to be here right now."

Tino held his gaze for a long moment before reluctantly agreeing. "Fine. We'll take him to our house, but we will be back tomorrow, and you are going to go home and sleep. Got it?"

Lukas held his hands up in surrender as, unbeknownst to them, parts of their conversation drifted towards Emil. He winced as one of Lukas' comments entered his thoughts. 'He doesn't need to be here right now.' _Of course_, he thought miserably. _Why would he want me here? This whole thing is my fault_.

Wait. This whole thing was his fault. Mathias was in the hospital, in God knew what state, because he hadn't been able to fall asleep. If Emil had just gone to bed earlier, he would have slept, he wouldn't have been in a bad mood that day, his brother wouldn't have been annoyed, Emil wouldn't have snapped, he would have stayed awake, and Mathias never would have had to have come to pick Emil up in the first place. Mathias and Lukas would be in some expensive restaurant, and Emil would be sitting at home doing his homework, bored out of his mind.

His heart sank as he reached this conclusion. So it really was his fault. He bet that Lukas hated him now. Tino and Berwald probably did too, even though Berwald said that he hated Mathias. But that's okay, he would hate him too. The reasonable side of Emil argued that they wouldn't outright hate him. Sure, they'd be mad, but it wasn't just his fault, right? There were other circumstances to consider, too.

Unfortunately, the rest of Emil's brain didn't feel like listening to sensible Emil. It seemed as if insecure Emil and pessimist Emil were in charge now. He faintly heard footsteps across the tile. Oh, no. They were coming over here. Were they going to yell at him? Tell him how they were disappointed in him or that they hated him? He began to sweat.

"Emil."

He kept his head down. He heard a sigh and winced slightly; everyone had been sighing since they'd gotten there. That, and pacing. He figured that there may (probably) be more of that in his near future, but then again, why wouldn't there be? They weren't exactly poor, but paying the hospital bills for both Emil and Mathias would be a stretch.

Great. Another reason to be angry with himself.

After trying to get Emil to talk for a while, Lukas sighed again and turned to Tino. "Just take him home." He ran a hand over his face tiredly as he watched them walk away, and he swore he saw something like guilt cloud Emil's face when he looked back. Lukas shook his head. Emil wasn't naïve enough to blame himself, was he? He sighed and shook his head.

Of course he was.

**So it's a little short, but whatever. I just wanted to get something up for you guys today! (Well I'm still going to consider it as the 14th, as it's literally six minutes into the day.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! I'd just like to thank all of you wonderful people for reviewing and favoriting/following! I'm currently listening to Eh? Ah, Annoying again. I don't know why, but I am! **

**To reviewers:**

**PianoKeys4: Thanks! And as you can see, you haven't had to wait for too long.**

**Miss Akiyata: I know. The worstest decisions make the bestest stories.**

**readingpower: I _could._**

**I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy.**

Despite Emil's objections to Tino that he would be fine at home by himself, he still brought the silver-haired teen home with him. Emil had insisted that he could stay up until they got to his house, and that no, he didn't need Tino or Berwald to help him. However, by the time they actually arrived at the boy's house so that he could get clothes for the following day, he was dead to the world against to window.

Tino chuckled and looked to Berwald. "Should we wake him?"

The blond shook his head. "Let him sleep. I'll get some of his clothes."

Tino nodded. Berwald left the car and entered the house, frowning at the unlocked door. Stupid Dane. Didn't he know that it was dangerous to leave the door unlocked at night? But then again, Emil was supposed to be home, and he often forgot his key.

After entering the house and turning on some of the lights (because he'd learned the hard way that Mathias still played with Legos and was not content with putting them away), Berwald made his way up to Emil's room. He hadn't been inside it for years, he realized, not since they'd been younger. The others sort of excluded Emil, either that or he just wasn't noticed. The thought made him sad.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the same green walls that'd been there the last time he'd entered the room. But the similarities pretty much ended there. The bed had moved so that it was next to the window, and the comforter was now dark blue. Bookshelves stood in available spaces between a dresser and desk, but more books were crammed onto every available surface. Everything else was neat, however. There was no clothes on the floor and few objects seemed out of place (other than the books, which there seemed to be an excess amount of). The room, as a whole, was very different from the last time he'd been there, when Legos and a few stuffed animals were strewn across the room.

So Emil really was growing up.

He gathered a uniform from the stack of clothes folded neatly in a basket and picked up one of the books from Emil's desk. Berwald shrugged and added it to the pile. If Emil got bored tomorrow and wasn't at school, he might as well have something to do.

When Berwald returned to the car, Emil was still sleeping and Tino was staring up at the stars. "What took so long?"

He remained quiet for a minute. "Nothing. I was just... thinking."

Tino started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He seemed to realize that Berwald didn't want to expand on that, and he was grateful for it. They eventually found their way back to Berwald and Tino's home. Even though Mathias', Lukas', and Emil's house was usually where they hung out at, the house was well kept and clean.

Tino woke Emil and helped him stumble into the house. Berwald took his things and set them on the counter, picking up Hanatamango on the way into the living room. Emil sat sleepily on the couch, squinting up at Tino.

Berwald rubbed the back of his neck. "I forgot to get him pajamas..."

"Well... He's too big for my clothes... Maybe just give him one of your shirts-"

"I'm okay, Tino." He rubbed at his eyes. "I'm not a kid, and I'm right here."

Tino frowned. "But still. Sleeping in your uniform isn't going to do you any good."

"... Fine. But go to bed, you two. You need to sleep as well." Emil stood. "I remember where the extra pillows and things are, so..." The others had spent the night there before more than once. On one occasion, he remembered going to bed on the couch and waking up in the kitchen. He still had no idea how that happened.

Tino and Berwald both ended upstairs sooner than expected, as Emil somehow managed to get Tino to stop fussing over him. Berwald came back down the stairs after a few moments with a small pile of clothes for Emil; who thanked him before disappearing into the bathroom.

When he was sure that everyone was upstairs and in their beds, he crept into the kitchen and snatched a pen from a cup on the table. Taking a sheet of paper and sitting at the table, he stared at the blank surface before hefting the pen. In small, neat handwriting he began to fill the page with letters. Even when his body started to shake, his hand remained steady.

When he had finished, the paper was folded and tucked harshly in his pocket. Weariness overcame him, and he turned off the lights before slumping to the couch. He figured that if this would become one of his last nights of undisturbed and full rest, he might as well take advantage of it. Emil closed his eyes, curled up under his blanket.

His senses started to soften and his hearing lapsed; he was teetering on the edge of sleep. He experienced a foul swooping sensation twice before he managed to settle down completely. His body relaxed and his face became calm and serene as he finally, finally got some rest.

The paper, though he certainly remembered it now, would grow to be forgotten in his pocket. Emil would, however, rediscover it in due time with the help of someone who would help him righten his world. There were few words scrawled on the page, but they held great meaning.

_Don't fall asleep. _

_Don't complain. _

_And don't get caught._

Though the note was meant for his eyes only, it would fall under the sight of another. Then, and only then, would things plummet further. And when things finally picked up again, it would get better. But not until a crisp night spent in the rain.

Which was still several months away.

**Ah, yes, mother hen Tino. Anyways, I wanted to get this posted for you guys because it's so late now, even if it is a tad short. I'm supposed to be in bed but I just had to put the finishing touches on this for you guys. Forgive me, it's two a.m.**


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Sorry that this was up late, but my fingers are bandaged again, so writing and typing is... well, awkward, to say the least. -.-" And, my cousins are staying with us... Joy.

**To reviewers:**

**PianoKeys4: Sorry for the wait, then!**

**Miss Akiyata: Thanks, I try. ^^ And here you go.**

**readingpower: Indeed it does.**

* * *

The next morning, Berwald wasn't at all surprised to find Emil still asleep when he came downstairs. In fact, it would have surprised his if Emil _was_ up. Not only was he a teenager (like the rest of them, but he was the youngest), so he would need lots of sleep, but he also hadn't slept the night before, according to Lukas.

The boy was curled up on the couch, his face buried in one of the extra pillows from their closet. The blanket he'd also been given was in danger of falling to the floor; about a quarter of it actually remained draped over Emil. He rolled over, almost sending it tumbling to the floor. Berwald picked it up and spread it over the younger again, even going as far as tucking it in around him. Despite anything Emil said, he was still like a younger brother to Berwald.

A small smile crossed his face as he entered the kitchen. As Berwald was the only one who could halfway decently cook (at least breakfast; Lukas and Tino could make some pretty damn good dinners), he figured that he should probably start making something for the monster that was Emil's stomach. Seriously, the kid could eat an entire cow. No one knew where he put it all.

Tino had gone out a bit earlier to get Lukas from the hospital, drag him home, and force him to eat and rest (possibly literally), so he made extra. Soon the kitchen smelled like pancakes and bacon. Sure, it wasn't the most _Swedish_ breakfast, but it was easy to make. Eventually the scent wafted out into the living room, which eventually roused Emil.

He drifted into the kitchen silently, pillow in hand. When Berwald turned around to set a plate in front of him, he found he couldn't, on account of Emil's head and pillow being down on the table. Said teen looked up at him with a sleepy pout; though Berwald was sure that he wasn't even aware it was there. He chuckled and gave a small smile; things that were rare on their own and even rarer paired together.

"Don't laugh at me." Emil's cross tone made him want to do just that; with his voice mixed with drowsiness, he just sounded adorable.

Instead he merely put his hands up (he'd long since set the plates down) in a mock-surrendering gesture. "Eat your breakfast," Berwald prompted.

Emil rolled his eyes, but wasted no time in digging in. He had to hand it to Berwald, those were some pretty kicking pancakes. The two ate their respective breakfasts in silence, Emil crinkling his nose in distaste at Berwald's bacon. He'd never been a big fan of it himself, but the amounts that Berwald could eat it in was almost enough to make him want to become a vegetarian. Which he'd done once.

It had not gone well.

Lukas and Tino entered the house nearly silently as he was finishing his glass of milk (because although it made him feel a little bit like a child, he was in the mood for milk, not the coffee that Lukas seemed to live off of).

"Good morning, little brother."

He nearly choked when Lukas spoke form behind him, spraying milk all over the table in front of him. He coughed harshly and reached for some napkins. "Lukas! Don't _do_ that!"

His brother gave a very slight smile. "My apologies." He didn't really sound sorry but Emil ignored this.

"How's Mathias?" His voice was wan and worried. Although he'd managed to fall asleep after a while, he'd slept fitfully, riddled with guilt and worry over the bright eyed Dane.

Lukas pursed his lips. "Mathias... They wouldn't let me see him for most of the night, and then... Around three in the morning, they came to tell me that he was stable and that he would live, but for now, he is in a coma."

Silence rang throughout the kitchen. Emil's mouth seemed to be suddenly void of any and all moisture, which didn't really help the bitter taste there. He felt very, very sick. "A... coma?"

Lukas nodded. "A medically induced coma. Which mean he'll be out for a few days, but he will wake up. It's just a matter of time."

Emil almost laughed out of pure, sweet relief. He didn't think that he could handle Mathias going into an _actual_ coma because of him. Not that the fact that he was in a coma at all was good, but a medically induced coma was so much better than the type that people slip into and never wake up from. Or they wake up and don't remember who they are, or who anyone else is, or sometimes just one person is blocked.

He was pretty sure that that happened a lot less in real life than it did on television, but it never hurt to be thorough.

* * *

**I'm glad I finally was able to upload this for you guys! Fanfiction was ****_not_**** being kind to me last night. A little Berwald-Emil time in there for you guys. ^-^ Remember, if you guys want to see a certain something in here, tell me and I can try to work it in!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy Easter, guys! Okay, so maybe it _is_ after Easter already. Whatever! Did y'all have fun? I'd love to hear about your celebrations!**

**To reviewers:**

**readingpower: Thanks, it means a lot. ^^**

**Miss Akiyata: Yes, though I still have to figure out if I actually want anything to come of the crash or if it'll remain just a mild setback in their lives. *facepalms* Jeeze, major plothole there.**

**FlightyMighty15: Thanks and, yes, I did consider an actual coma... But I thought it was just a little bit _too_ cliché, so I refrained. ^-^**

**As always, I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

* * *

To say that Emil was happy about going back to school the next day would be an understatement.

After spending the remainder of the previous day wandering around Tino and Berwald's house and yard, he was tired of being there. He really just wanted to go home, but Emil would settle for just a change of scenery. Even though he'd only been in their house for a little over twenty-four hours, he was itching to leave it.

Lukas was going to drive him home to get another change of clothes; despite him having been in Tino's car the night before, seeing and riding in his brother's unnerved him.

"Come on, Emil." Lukas twirled his keys around his fingers impatiently as Emil hesitated by the door.

He grasped the handle and opened it, staring into the car before glancing back at Lukas. His heart beat faster and he felt slightly nauseous, but he ignored it and forced himself into the passengers' seat. Allowing himself to become afraid of cars was ridiculous and a little embarrassing, to be honest. Emil would rather skip out on that.

The ride home was quick and quiet, yet Emil couldn't help but wish that it was a tad bit longer. This was the first bit of absolute quiet he'd gotten all day, as one of the kids that Tino apparently knew and tolerated had followed him around all day. He sighed and leaned back in the seat. That kid, Peter, was annoying. But he had a feeling that he wouldn't be left alone.

When they got back to the others' house, Tino had made dinner already. Emil appreciated this, he made sure to thank him before disappearing outside again. He might as well enjoy it while the sun was still out. He sat in silence, thoughts wandering, until Lukas joined him on the porch and told him that they'd be leaving soon.

He could tell that part of Lukas wanted to stay with Tino and Berwald; he didn't want to be alone with Emil in their house. He didn't blame him either, because that house was full of memories that he wouldn't want to remember either, had Mathias turned out to be his boyfriend.

After ridding his head of _that_ god awful thought, Emil decided that it was best he just stayed out of Lukas' way for the next few days. He wasn't so sure that it was the best course of action, considering that would leave Lukas all alone (seemingly, at least; Emil would still _be_ there), but... That's what he would do, for the most part.

Emil wasn't good with emotions, or his brother in general. Lukas didn't even feel like he was Emil's brother for the most part, he kind of felt like that annoying cousin who managed to tick you off with the least amount of effort. Emil felt that if Lukas had the right, as his brother, to be so irritating, he should at least put the effort in for the rest of the time to act like that big brother that he wanted Emil to call him.

It wasn't to be said that Emil would abandon the other in his time of stress and need; he just wouldn't be there to provoke him further than necessary. Anytime that he was needed, Emil would definitely be there for his brother. Because unlike Lukas, he intended to be a good sibling when he could, hence his confliction on what would be the best thing to do. School would only provide so much distraction for both of them, but Emil was more than thankful for it anyways.

Back to the original thought, he thought it would do him good, and really, that's all the conviction that he needed.

* * *

"You're avoiding me."

Emil jumped, spilling some of his coffee onto the counter. "Lukas!"

"You're avoiding me." The Norwegian repeated, leaving no room for any form of protest Emil could have thought of at that moment. Which was none, no matter how weak.

He actually He took a moment to observe his older brother. There were dark purple bags under his eyes that seemed to have grown bigger throughout the week, and he seemed somehow... smaller today than he'd been yesterday.

It was his stance, Emil realized. Lukas was slumped, where as he usually had impeccable posture. He looked... well, defeated. His world must be crashing down around him. His boyfriend was in the hospital (he was supposed to wake up literally any day now, but he hadn't yet...), his brother was avoiding him, and his friends were treating him like he was glass that might break if they so much as breathed too hard. And sympathy (or worse yet; pity) was not something that Lukas appreciated.

As he came to these conclusions, he also realized how much of a bonehead move it'd been to 'stay out of Lukas' way'. By doing that, he had indirectly made his brother's remainder of the week about a third as worse as it could have been.

And he was brought out of his amazing brainwave by fingers clicking in front of his face. "Hmn?" He tuned back in to Lukas, who looked rather impatient with him. "Oh, right, yeah. I suppose I have... But I was trying not to be a bother..." His bluntness definitely outweighed his awkwardness in this situation.

"'Trying not to be a bother'? Emil, you're my little brother. You're supposed to bother me." Was he hallucinating? Because he was fairly sure there was a small smile on his brother's face. "And anyways, now isn't the best time for you to shut me out, okay? We need to support each other, yeah?"

Well this was out of character. But as long as they were being mushy and overly lovey- "I'm sorry Lukas." He awkwardly hugged his brother. "You just already have so much on your plate; I didn't want to add myself to it."

Lukas hid a smile in Emil's hair. "It's okay. I haven't really been the best 'big brother' for the past few days, either, so we're both at fault."

Emil bit his tongue to keep from telling Lukas that he hadn't been the best older brother for the past few _years_, but he really didn't feel like ruining the moment. To be truthful, they hadn't had a sibling moment in... Well, almost too long for Emil to remember.

It was really too bad that it had to be interrupted by the door slamming open.

* * *

**So it's been a couple of days! X0X I just wanted to let you guys know that tomorrow is the last day of my Spring Break, so sadly, I won't be able to post as much as I'd like, on account of my school work and track and field life. Yes, I know, it's shocking; but I do have a life.**

**I'll usually post on the weekends; hopefully once at the beginning and once at the end.**

**Don't forget to share Easter stories with me!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Never fear, chapter nine is here!**

**Hello all of you beautiful, wonderful people I love to call my readers! I seem chipper today, you say? *shrugs* It's just because I get to update for you guys after a whole week!**

**To reviewers:**

**PianoKeys4: Thanks. I love them too, though I probably won't put any more in until *censored*.**

**FlightyMighty15: Aheh. Sorry about that, and for the long wait for this chapter! I haven't been able to type at all this week. ;-;**

**Miss Akiyata: It's *spoiler*.**

**HetaliaIShipIt: Well hello there! Thank you, and yes, yes it is. Thanks, and thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

* * *

The door crashed open, startling Emil out of Lukas' arms. "What the-"

"Lukas! Emil!" Tino's voice rang throughout the house. "Get up, get dressed, and get in the car!" He crashed into the kitchen. "We're going to the hospital."

His tone left no room for arguments, so Emil started moving. Luckily he'd already gotten dressed, unlike Lukas, who had left to get dressed without questioning Tino. "The hospital? Why, did something happen?"

His cheeks were flushed happily, he noted, like Tino had run here instead of driving in Berwald's car. "Let's wait for Lukas, he should hear this first."

"Okay?" He stood, grabbing his coat just as Lukas crashed down the stairs.

"Let's go." The blonde took Emil's arm and practically dragged him outside, ignoring his protests.

Once they were in the car (which may or may not have been speeding, thanks to Tino's driving) he'd had enough of the secrecy. "Tino, what the hell happened?"

The short man glanced in the rearview mirror, then at Lukas in the seat next to him. "Mathias woke up." Tino spoke slowly and turned his focus back to the road. "I got a call from the hospital; Berwald drove there and I came to get you."

A thrill of relief washed over Emil. Mathias was awake? "Wait- why did they call you and not us? Mathias lives with us." Emil frowned, looking at Lukas.

The other had his head down, staring at his hands. "It's not a big deal."

"Okay, but why did-"

Lukas cut him off. "Drop it, Emil. It doesn't matter."

He pursed his lips, staring out of the window for the rest of the ride. He was glad that Mathias woke up; he really, really was. Much more than he let on. The feeling of guilt that had filled him all week lessened considerably, and suddenly it was just that much easier to breathe.

When they reached the hospital, Tino parked the car and the three of them hurried into the waiting room. They had to sign in and get Mathias' room number, since evidentially he'd changed rooms since they'd been there yesterday.

Lukas seemed eager to get to Mathias, which he understood, and also like he wanted to avoid going, which he didn't. Maybe he was nervous, he thought. But then again, when was the last time Lukas had been nervous for something? Anxious, in the last few days, sure, but nervous? He didn't think so.

"Hey guys!" Mathias' voice was bright and loud, like he wasn't in a hospital bed. He waved, and Lukas all but ran to his side.

Berwald stood. "We should give them some privacy."

Emil looked over to where Lukas was strangling Mathias (for once not with his tie but a hug), and nodded. As much as he wanted to see and talk to Mathias, for his own guilt hadn't finished with him yet, not by a long shot- he knew that it was very important for Lukas and Mathias to, well, have 'alone time' at the moment.

Somehow he knew that, even though he was- as Mr. Puffin had put it once- 'romantically challenged'. He thought over this as he waited in the hallway. Emil figured that he could be romantic, if he wanted. But he didn't want to! Besides, even is he _had_ wanted to (which he didn't!) he didn't have anyone to be romantic _with._

He snorted. That was a bit of a plot hole.

Emil didn't have any friends, apart from the other Nordics, anyways. There were people he did business with, sure, but he didn't really have a friend. There were his piers at school and the other micro nations, but most of them were loud, annoying, and pushy.

His own family members were very close to him, in their eyes, but to him, they were often pushing him closer to becoming a full on shut in.

Emil sighed. They just didn't get it. No matter how many times he tried to explain it to them, his family just didn't understand that, well, he _liked_ to be alone. He preferred being alone in his quiet room, being peaceful and undisturbed to being surrounded by people that got on his nerves. At least when he was by himself he didn't have to try to think of things to say or deal with his social awkwardness.

People in general were dislikable.

* * *

When it was his turn to see Mathias, he seemed distracted. That wasn't unusual, because the Dane was an easily distractible person.

But this time it was different. He kept up with Emil easily, but his eyes would wander to the door like he was waiting for someone to walk back through it. He wanted Lukas, Emil figured. So the twelfth time it happened, he excused himself to let Lukas or one of the others in, figuring he had no interest in talking to him.

"I'll come see you soon," he told Mathias, gripping the doorknob loosely. "There are some things I need to tell you."

The other blonde nodded. "See you around. But hey- can you bring Lukas in on your way out?"

Ah. So he'd been correct. "Sure thing."

As he passed through the doorway and into the hall, he saw that his brother was already waiting next to the door. Lukas examined Emil before nodding once and entering the room, shutting the door behind him with a sharp click. Emil shivered; his brothers gaze was like ice, cold and piercing. He wondered if he ever looked like that. Probably not, he thought, regarding his softer features and inability to look menacing.

They stayed for another hour before the nurses came to herd them all out, spouting something about Mathias needing rest and that he'd had enough excitement for one day without extended visits. Lukas looked like he was about to growl at the nurse, but Tino ushered him out with haste. The last thing they needed was for Lukas to get kicked out of the hospital. Again.

That night Lukas made Emil go to bed early because there was school the next day. It was also Monday, which only strengthened his resolve, along with the fact that Emil was often physically pulled out of bed by one of the other Scandinavian boys. It wasn't like he was going to sleep anyways, so he stayed up until it was time to go to school the next day.

* * *

**Aaaaaaaand cue fail ending. But whatever, this literally took me six hours to write. T^T Then again, I wasn't only writing this... Whatever. Next update shall be soon so don't fret!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Nee ne****e everyone! Aha, we're finally in double digits for chapters. AND I'VE FINALLY FUCKING UPDATED. :D Ugh, I use my grandmother's laptop to type and some weird shit is going on with it, so I am slowly and painfully putting together this chapter. Well, I hope you guys like the update!**

**To reviewers:**

**readingpower: Takk~!**

**Miss Akiyata: I've actually done that before, stayed up really late on a school night. The next day was hell.**

**Darkgreendegu: Woah there friend! XD Ease up a bit. i'm glad you like it, though sorry it made you cry...?**

**Elipson Sylvati: (chapter six) Welcome to the fic! x3 I hope you're ready for the next billion chapters of spazzing, because that's all coming your way. And thank you! (chapter nine) No, he didn't forget. It was just a little thing that'll get brought up later on. I have continues also, just for you~! (And the rest of you lovely readers. ouo)**

**Also: Thank you all for the amazing reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

* * *

After the next morning, he promised himself that he would never pull an all-nighter again. At least not on a school night. The feeling of sluggishness that he'd been experiencing since about three a.m. had not yet diminished, and although it was still very uncomfortable, Emil was starting to get used to it.

He'd been slow all morning and hadn't raised his hand once, which, of course, wasn't something anyone picked up on until the lunch period.

When his younger brother yet again slumped over the table, Lukas became concerned. However, being the stoic and slightly awkward (okay. very awkward) Norwegian that he was, the elder simply patted his brother's silver hair and continued on eating his lunch.

For a time, Emil was allowed to be quiet and unsocial as usual. In fact, he was so surprised with the fact that someone had addressed him that half of what they said went right over his head.

"-the new kid?"

"Huh?" The Icelander blinked, tuning back in to the group's conversation. They were no longer discussing- well, whatever they'd been talking about before, he couldn't really remember- and had, apparently, switched to a topic that would include Emil. Sadly.

"I said, have you seen the new kid?" Matthias repeated. The Dane had recovered well from the crash, only maintaining a few scratches and a scar that he had added to his collection of 'Viking marks'.

"What new kid?" He asked dully. He didn't much care, and also wasn't one to get excited about a new student. What was so great about adding one more person to a group of people all of which you didn't like, didn't socialize with, or were on unfriendly terms with?

While it was true that he didn't have any arch nemesis's or rivals, he also didn't have many friends. Emil wasn't one for talking, and when he did speak he was usually very blunt about it. There was that Turkish guy, and maybe his boyfriend... Or- he gulped- the Russian exchange student...

But even if Ivan was nice to him, which he was, almost creepily so, Emil was sort of suspicious of him. He could be very terrifying when he wanted to be, and there was also the fact that he had a creepily protective younger sister. She was from Belarus, and, after seeing the two of them together in the library one day, had threatened to cut off his thumbs. Needless to say, Emil had avoided Ivan like the plague for as long as he could afterward.

"In the Asian class." Matthias was saying. "Some kid from Hong Kong or something, I think his name is Leon."

Lukas rolled his eyes. "He's not new, idiot. He's been here for almost a year now."

"Well he's new to me," Matthias pouted. He then brightened considerably. "Do you think it's still early enough to go over and talk to him? Or do you think that the other Asians have already made him hate us?"

Emil groaned. "I think that I don't care." Whoever this mystery guy was, the teen seriously didn't care what he thought of them, regardless of how long he way have been at the school for.

"Aw, why so grumpy Emmy?" Matthias whined. The nickname, which on its own was horrid and made him want to punch the other, paired with the annoying tone of voice and his lack of sleep did nothing to help him keep his cool. _Relax,_ he told himself. _Losing your temper right now won't help anything or anyone._

Indeed, the smaller teen had been setting about to be generally nicer to the Dane. He did small favors or errands for him, which usually involved getting him beer, and was just nicer than he usually was. Instead of the clipped response he normally would've given, he settled for muttering a quiet 'nothing' and rolling his eyes.

The rest of the lunch period went on without a hitch. Emil floated throughout the rest of the day, not really paying attention in any of his classes. He almost walked into one of his teachers just before the last period, and that was when he finally snapped out of whatever sort of daze he had been in. He apologized, then slipped into the classroom.

Emil really didn't understand why they had to take languages. Sure, it was good to learn a second language, but that was just it. he'd had to learn English just to be able to attend this school, why did he have to learn another? Besides, it was sort of insulting that they only offered English, French, and Spanish as language choices. So what if they were spoken all over the world? it wasn't like he was planning to visit Paris or go to Spain anytime soon.

He wasn't the only one who thought so either. Emil often heard other students and even his own brother, who didn't complain about much other than Matthias being annoying and Emil's 'behavior issues', grumble about the choices. Really, they should think about what they're doing! Didn't the people on the school board know that it caused tension (and honestly, jealousy) towards the Spanish and French students?

Two of them, Antonio and Francis, had been singled out almost as soon as they had arrived at the school. They, along with a German (though he claimed to be Prussian, even if it were impossible) student who had tried to stand up for and befriend the two had been nicknamed the 'Bad Touch Trio', and then later on the 'Bad Friends Trio'.

He didn't know or care why, but now that the three had hit puberty and, well, become attractive, they were roaming the school, going through relationships like a girl does tissues during a chic flick.

Sighing, he shook his head, entering the French classroom and thoroughly ready for the day to end.

* * *

**AND SO THERE YOU HAVE IT, BOYS AND GIRLS! I'm so glad I finally got this chapter up, but I do have an important note. Someone asked me whether or not I was going to incorporate darker themes into this story, i.e. drug abuse or something of the like. Well... I could, but it would be later down in the plot line. I guess the question is... What do you guys want to see?**

**And that doesn't just have to be for that specific topic. If you guys want to see a certain scene or have a certain pairing show up in the story, just ask and I'll do my best!**

**Okay, I think that's enough for now. Let me know what you think, and I'll see you next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello guys! It's a lovely Saturday morning on a day where I have to go to a wedding! So where does this put me? Writing for all of you lovely people!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia! Enjoy.**

* * *

To put it simply: French class was simple.

Emil didn't know about anyone else, but picking up languages just seemed to be a natural thing for him, like breathing. Maybe it was because he grew up speaking Icelandic, which was one of the most complicated languages out there, and had then learned English a few years back. Whatever the reason may be, Emil was grateful for it.

Not only did it make it incredibly easy for him to get through his homework and he didn't have to worry about any quizzes or tests, but it also meant that he finished his work early and had the rest of the class to do whatever he wanted. Of course, this usually consisted of reading, as a, he didn't have many friends in the first place, and b, the other kids usually took the entire class to finish their work on account of their tendency to chat more than work.

This usually didn't bother him; he thought that the constant chatter of his classmates made lovely background noise to whatever book he was currently engrossed in. And the fact that he _always_ finished early really contributed to the amount of time he spent reading. It'd even effected how much he read at home: what'd been a normal amount of time spent reading nearly tripled. Lukas had actually become concerned to the point where he, another great lover of literature, sat him down and asked him what was wrong.

The twenty minutes that had followed had been incredibly awkward and not at all necessary. For the love of Thor, he was just reading! Was that such a crime? Apparently so.

On this particular day, fate seemed not to be on his side. On top of his previous bad day, for once the noise is actually getting to him. How the hell had he not noticed how annoying all of these people were?!

... Oh wait. He'd known how annoying they were, he just ignored them. In fact, it wasn't their talking that annoyed him, it was their need to be obnoxious and loud and overall irritating. And the happiness. How can people be that happy all of the time? It was absolutely mind boggling.

On this particular day, Emil came in and immediately started his work, just like always. When he was finished, as the teacher hadn't yet entered the room (seriously, who thought that it was a good idea to leave a class of teenagers who desperately wanted to go home alone in a classroom?), pulled out one of his many books. He read comfortably for around a minute when someone pulled out the chair next to him.

Emil looked up, slightly annoyed. No one ever sat next to him in this class unless there was no other option. And, he noted, there were plenty of seats left empty. When he caught sight of the stranger, however, the annoyance all but disappeared. This boy was incredibly beautiful, he thought. Emil then blushed and cursed himself for thinking that. Boys weren't meant to be beautiful, and he wasn't meant to think that they were!

Emil couldn't help but notice that he was, however. The boy had choppy brown hair, which was gelled up stylishly, smooth, dark skin, and amber eyes. Oh, his eyes. They were bright, despite the owner's uninterested expression. The color was rich and warm, making Emil want to stare into them for hours on end, just to feel that warmth. His blush darkened and he forced himself to turn back to his book before he was noticed.

Oh yes. He knew this boy. This was Leon, the apparent not-so-new that Matthias had been talking about.

"I'm Wang Li Xiao."

Emil started, snapping his attention back to Leon. Wang Li Xiao? Matthias said that his name was Leon... "Emil Steilsson," he answered, trying not to let his confusion show. That, of course, failed on account of his big mouth. "But I thought your name was Leon." Immediately he blushed (again!) and covered his mouth with his hand. "Sorry, that was rude and I-"

Wang Li Xiao- Leon?- waved a hand in dismissal. "It's fine. My name is Li Xiao, but my stupid cousin calls me Leon because Li Xiao is 'too Chinese' for his taste." Li Xiao looked mildly irritated.

"That's racist!" Emil exclaimed. He couldn't stand racist people.

"I know," he muttered. "Arthur hates anything to do with my older brother, and he named me, so he automatically hates my name. Figured that he'd better 'Americanize' my name if I'd be living here. And it stuck," Li Xiao waved his hand around, gesturing at the other students. "So I'm known as Leon."

"Oh." Very intelligent answer, Emil. He mentally facepalmed. Why did he have to be socially stunted?! "Doesn't it bother you?" ... And there you go again with your big mouth! You can't just ask people you've just met personal questions like that, stupid! Li Xiao's answer interrupted his mental yelling.

"Not really. It did more when I first got here than it does now."

He breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn't a total train wreck, he supposed. Now he just had to keep it up for the rest of the class. Woah. Woahwoahwoahwoah. Since when had he planned to keep talking to Li Xiao?

"You don't talk to many people, do you?" Li Xiao again interrupted Emil's thoughts, but this time he sounded amused. When he looked up, however, he found that his facial features hadn't changed in the slightest. Emil silently hoped that Li Xiao wasn't another Lukas. ... Wait.

Why was he thinking like this? Li Xiao wasn't going to suddenly jump through hoops to be his friend. He was just bored and Emil was there, he told himself. That's all.

"I'll take that as a no, then."

"Huh?" Even though Emil knew what he said, it was like a reflex. An annoying reflex. "No, I don- Hey!"

Li Xiao chuckled, much to Emil's chagrin. "Socially awkward or just antisocial?" Before Emil could answer, Li Xiao answered his own question. Eyes raking over his body, he idly commented, "Probably both for you."

"Hey!" He protested again. "I am not antisocial! And I'm not _that_ awkward..." He muttered.

He chuckled again. "Sure, kid. Sure."

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**And Hong Kong finally makes an appearance! So I want to post more fics! They'd be based off of songs, however, because they're easy to pull inspiration from. Songs I'd want to write for include:**

**- Cooler Than Me**

**- If I Die Young**

**- Some Nights**

**- Hallelujah**

**That's it for now, but I want you all to suggest songs! So yeah, in your review list a song and a pairing, PLEASE! Adios~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! I have a second chapter up to make up for my absence last week.**

**To reviewers: (which I forgot to do last chapter but I'm to lazy to fix.)**

**readingpower: Yeah, I noticed that too, but it'll will be explained in this chapter! Thanks, I'm glad that it made you smile. I actually wrote the chapter in the morning (not the time I usually do, though, after I'd woken up), so I think that chapter eleven was sort of off...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

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Later that night, Emil was thinking. Well, technically he was always thinking; everyone was. It was something that he literally couldn't control. To specify, Emil was thinking about Li Xiao. And to get into more depth with _that_, he was thinking of what he'd thought when he'd first seen the other up close. Confused yet? Welcome to Emil's world.

The others had long since gone to bed, the house was silent, and it was dark. These should have been the perfect conditions for Emil to be sleeping in, they always had been. But he, once again, was unable to sleep. Perhaps this time it was because there was something on his mind, maybe it was just becoming a habit by now. Whatever the reason, Emil just wished it would stop. He very much loved to sleep.

He had been staring at his ceiling blankly for the past three hours, trying to sort out his thoughts, and he continued to do so now. What had he been thinking? More importantly, _why_? Why was Emil thinking like that? It wasn't as if he was against gay or bi sexual people, but he just didn't think that he was either. Then again, exactly how many times had Emil had the chance to find out? None. So it wasn't as if the possibility was completely ruled out.

It was just past one in the morning when Emil realized that there as a chance that he might have a crush on this Asian boy. After five to ten minutes of mild heart attack (i.e. him flailing around for a few seconds followed by even more intense thinking), he also realized that the notion was absurd. He'd known the kid for less than a day! Hell, he'd known that he'd _existed_ for less than that!

Borderline panic attack aside, Emil got back to thinking. Perhaps by thinking of Li Xiao as beautiful... He didn't mean that in a romantic way. Maybe he was just noting that Li Xiao was attractive and it didn't pertain to Emil or his emotions at all. Now that he thought about it, he observed and noticed a lot of things that others didn't as a response of his chosen social exclusion. While the fact that Li Xiao was beautiful wasn't a very hard deduction to make, others wouldn't have over thought that they had thought it in the first place.

That made a lot more sense than the weak chance that Emil had grown feelings for the boy in a timespan of minutes. Now that he'd gotten the more stressful part about meeting Li Xiao out of his head, what was he to Emil? Was it too early to call the other a friend? Or did he still count as an acquaintance? Did Li Xiao even want to be Emil's friend? Why else would he have purposefully sat next to him when there were other seats obviously empty and available?

Why else would he have kept up a conversation with him throughout the class? In reality, it had mostly been idle things of no real importance, but they had still learned things about each other. At least, Emil knew that he did. He didn't know how often Li Xiao got around to talking to others, but if it was as often as Emil had, it would be the first time in a ling time.

Li Xiao was fond of teasing Emil, as well. He'd flushed more times than he could keep track of (because Emil _knew_ that he could count that high, if he'd been trying to.) and had ultimately decided that Li Xiao was an asshole. When Emil voiced this, he'd seemed indifferent and taken it into stride, promptly calling him 'kid' again. And though it was true that Li Xiao was older, Emil relished in the fact that he was taller than the brunette.

Blegh. Being social was difficult. Emil had no idea how some people, in fact most people, were so comfortable with it. How did people become so good at talking to other people? For Emil, he'd always hated talking to people he didn't know. And if you don't talk to people you don't know, your world suddenly becomes very, very small.

And that's when Emil realized; he was very nearly alone. The only people that he might be able to count as friends were Berwald and Tino, and maybe even Matthias, and Lukas was his brother. His horribly overprotective older brother. The other three were just like brothers to him anyways, but that had been diminishing as he'd grown older. People were slipping away. And his world was only becoming smaller.

And Emil was afraid of being alone.

Maybe that was his problem. Maybe Emil needed to stop worrying about possibly liking Li Xiao (because he's already ruled that out logically), overcome his social barriers, and forget about the fact that he couldn't sleep and it was getting hard to think! And just like that, it was decided. Perhaps it wasn't likely to happen, maybe it wasn't even possible, but he was going to try, goddammit!

The next problem was how. How the hell was he supposed to pull this off? Emi would definitely find a way. He was more stubborn than he looked and acted sometimes. The first, stop thinking, was doable, he thought. Hopefully he could do it with just his willpower and sheer stubbornness. Then, overcoming his social barriers. That was harder... Emil could watch other people and how they interacted; and maybe it would help him solve his problem. Lastly, forget about his inability to sleep. Maybe the cure to a problem like this was to just forget about it.

He would try. And maybe it wouldn't work, but if it did, it would be worth it. It would be worth more than he could ever express to anyone, let alone the person that would be let in.

He wouldn't be alone. He was going to let somebody in. And that person wasn't going to be just anybody- it was going to be Wang Li Xiao, the annoying Asian boy from his French class.

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**Woah Emil. Brainwave much? Or does that technically count as me also? ... I don't think I could handle the stress of trying to figure that out. XD Anyways, goodnight guys, I hope you enjoyed, but please don't forget to tell me what you'd like to see for this story and others, please!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. Enjoy!**

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Emil wished that he could say that his resolution was easy to fulfil.

He hadn't thought that it was going to be something that would be achieved quickly, nor had he believed that it would happen with little to no effort, but he hadn't expected it to be so hard. Thor, that sounded arrogant, which he was _not_. Let's rephrase that. He had expected that his goal would be hard to reach, and that it would take time. What he didn't expect was _how_ it would be challenging.

Li Xiao was incredibly hard to get on with. Emil had tried a variety of different things to get a different reaction out of him- being overly cheerful, acting shy (or more than he actually was, at any rate), mimicking the other's blank outlook- but nothing had worked. The Asian stubbornly refused to show Emil any emotion without even realizing what he was trying to do. If he was even capable of emotion. Emil didn't need another Lukas in his life, one was enough.

Li Xiao probably thought that Emil was bi polar or had multiple personality disorder or something. Or maybe that he was just plain weird. Either way, their friendship hadn't developed any more than it had the first day when they'd sat together.

Maybe Li Xiao had changed his mind. If he'd ever wanted to be friends with Emil at all, he gave no sign of it. Every time they talked, it was short and to the point, and Emil found it hard to talk to Li Xiao when he couldn't tell what he was thinking. At least with Lukas, he was used to his slight changes in expressions and was able to tell what he was thinking or feeling. With Li Xiao, he had no idea what he was feeling and it scared him. Emil didn't like not knowing things.

Things continued to go on- unproductively, he might add- for another few weeks. By then it was the middle of October, and autumn was in full swing. The leaves had started changing colors the week before, and now striking oranges, gentle yellows, and vibrant reds peeked out from the green. The occasional purple leaf stood out as well, addling to the jumbled assortment. The air was crisp and cooler now than it had been the month before, and now Emil was forced to wear a sweater to school when previously he hadn't needed to.

Some of the leaves had actually fallen off of the trees already, and they dragged across the pavement as he diligently walked to school. Emil had been in vehicles for as little time as possible since the crash. He wasn't afraid of cars, but he started to feel anxious if he sat in them for too long at once. He didn't understand why; if anyone should be feeling any lasting trauma, it would've been Matthias. But the Dane gave no sign of being afraid of or even wary of cars or other transportation that included driving. If anything, he'd been all the more excited to start driving again.

Maybe Emil was just being selfish, because he was fairly sure that it was indeed wrong for him to be experiencing anxiety over something that he had caused. Part of his conscious told him that wasn't true, but he tended to ignore it.

At any point, Emil had resolved to walking to and from school as often as possible. Lukas had definitely noticed this, he knew. And Lukas knew that he knew, as well. His older brother never said anything about it, so Emil figured that he either didn't care or didn't think that it was worth discussing. Lukas wasn't one to waste words and speech on pointless topics.

As Emil walked to school that day, he idly kicked aside leaves and stick that were strewn across the sidewalk. He was about halfway to the school when he heard another person walking behind him. He casually glanced behind him and was surprised to see Li Xiao walking towards him quickly. Emil slowed down some, and withing a minute they were walking next to each other silently.

"I didn't know you walked to school," Li Xiao commented, disturbing the silence.

Emil shrugged. "I always do."

"Why?" He sounded genuinely curious, as if he couldn't possibly fathom why someone would want to walk instead of drive.

"Why not?" He gestured around. "It's not pouring, storming, or cold, and I like to walk."

"Why?"

Emil began to feel mildly irritated. "Is why the only question that you can ask? Jeeze. How about this: I walk to school because I like to, and autumn is my favorite season."

Instead of asking why again like Emil thought he would, Li Xiao looked around. He looked as if he were trying to see what Emil liked so much about fall. Or perhaps he was doing just that; observing their surroundings. This guy gave him a headache.

"It's very beautiful," he said finally.

Emil couldn't help but agree. "It sort of reminds me of Iceland."

The other boy glanced at him. "How so?"

At least he was asking the question in a different way. "Well, Iceland's temperature usually felt like this, and during the fall you can actually connect to nature better, in my opinion. Iceland is very beautiful, and I can see more of it here during this time of year."

Li Xiao considered this. "I guess. I've never been to Iceland, so I can't say I, like, know what you're talking about. In Hong Kong there isn't, like, a ton of plants or anything. It's pretty much just city everywhere."

So Li Xiao was from Hong Kong, was he? Emil was amazed at how easily a conversation could flow. Unlike all of his other failed attempts, this time he was actually able to carry it out. What was different now? The time of day? The fact that they weren't in a classroom? He didn't see why that'd make a difference. He nodded, not seeing a way to nonchalantly keep the conversation going.

They reached to school shortly, where they departed to go to their respective lockers and classrooms without a word, like they'd been doing it for years. And Emil didn't notice the small, almost unnoticeable smile that had appeared on his face afterwards.

* * *

**Happy Saturday, guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now, I have a very serious question for you all: What YouTubers do you watch, if any at all? I guess that's it, but just so you know I'll be posting another story here soon! Adios!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia! Enjoy.**

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"So." Lukas placed his tray on the lunch table with a soft click. "I heard that you were smiling today."

The remark surprised Emil greatly; for one thing, his brother didn't generally say things like that, and for another, he didn't understand why he actually said what he did. "Excuse me?"

Lukas seemed to take this as an attempt at denial. "Matthias heard from one of your classmates that you'd been smiling all through first and second period- why?"

"Doesn't Matthias have anything better to talk about than my expression?" Emil grumped, avoiding the question. Why did Lukas care so much? It was just a small upturn of the lips, it wasn't a big deal.

"No," he replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. Since Matthias had gotten home, Lukas had been just the slightest bit more expressive, which was shocking considering how long he'd gone being less emotional. "Now answer the question."

Emil hadn't thought about it, but he didn't remember smiling at all that day. Maybe it was because it was a trivial thing or because he just didn't keep track. He told this to Lukas, adding in a 'why is it even important?'' for good measure.

His brother wasn't convinced. He pulled out the chair next to Emil with more force than was needed, sitting and looking at him with intensity. "Don't think I'm blind, Emil." His voice was harsh, any trace of amusement gone, causing Emil to recoil slightly.

If Lukas saw, he didn't let it show. "Because I'm not. You don't think that I don't realize that you haven't smiled in months? You barely ever smile, Emil, and you haven't since September!"

He breathed in sharply. So Lukas had known, on some level, that something had changed with him. Part of him was anger that he'd known and not done anything, the other part of him wanted Lukas to mind his own business. If Lukas could figure that out and had the patience to wait until he had some facts to say anything, who knew how long it would be until he knew everything?

His brother was still talking. "Emil, this is a big deal." His voice softened. Emil hadn't realized it until then, and was perhaps more surprised than he should have been to realize that there as actually some emotion in Lukas' voice. "You haven't been the same since then, we've all noticed it."

"Lukas," Emil said quietly. His mind was racing. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Lukas looked mildly agitated. "You aren't fine, Emil! Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

He glared, but Lukas wasn't finished yet.

"You're as pale as a damn ghost! You look like you haven't slept in a week, the bags under your eyes are huge, and your grades are starting to slip, Emil."

He took a deep breath. Lukas wouldn't be easy to convince, and Emil was ninety percent sure that he wouldn't be able to convince him. That didn't mean he wouldn't try. Emil was stubborn. "Lukas, I'm _fine._ Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm a teenager, which means that my body clock is screwed up and my hormones are crazy. It's normal, so _relax._"

It killed his pride to say it, and Lukas only looked half-convinced, but Emil was pretty happy with his explanation. It might not fully convince his brother, but it would certainly fool someone like Matthias.

Lukas looked like he wanted to pursue the topic, but he was forced to drop it when Matthias, Tino, and Berwald sat down at the table. The older blonde wasn't one for making a scene, and Emil was glad for the shred of privacy.

As Matthias engaged his brother in a conversation about Thor knows what, Emil considered what his brother said carefully. It seemed as if he wasn't going to get by without thinking things through more. He literally couldn't sleep, but he didn't know why. He wasn't having nightmares, he felt tired all the time, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep.

He didn't want his brother to worry, Lukas already had a lot on his plate. He didn't need to add himself to that list. Emil wasn't Lukas' kid brother anymore, he could handle himself.

Emil would think of something to hide the bags under his eyes. Maybe concealer or something would help. He couldn't do anything for looking pale, as he certainly wasn't going to buy bronzer or a fake tan, nor was he going to get one naturally. It was November, and he sunburned horribly. As for his grades, well, he would just use the hours that he usually spent staring at his ceiling in a vain attempt to sleep studying instead.

Yes, he decided. Everything would be fine. He would just have to try harder, and maybe Lukas would think that everything was back to normal. Or maybe not. But he wouldn't know until he tried, would he?

After school that day, on his way home, Emil stopped at a convenience store and bought concealer. Of course he got weird looks from the clerk, and had a hard time figuring out what he was actually looking for, but he didn't particularly care. He had to run the rest of the way to make it back to the house on time, but it didn't bother him.

During dinner Lukas kept glancing at him between Matthias' chatter, and he was amazed that the other hadn't noticed. Then again, this was _Matthias_. But still, it was getting on his nerves.

After dinner, he somehow ended up on one of the couches, trying in vain to focus on the book in his lap. Even though it was only seven in the evening, he was having trouble focusing. He frowned. He had been taking longer to read now, as a result of not sleeping. A movie was playing, though Matthias and Lukas, who'd put it in, weren't paying attention to it anymore. They talked quietly on the other couch, cuddling in one of the rare instances that Lukas allowed it. Or, at least as far as Emil knew.

Eventually he gave up and gave in, not pretesting when his eyes shut again. He wondered idly why he was falling asleep now. Must be because he wasn't getting enough sleep, Emil thought sleepily. Maybe every once in a while this will happen, and I won't be able to stop it.

The movie faded into the background and the couple's soft talking helped lull him into a dreamier state. Right before he fell off the edge of sleep, he felt his book being tugged from his hands gently, could hear it being closed and placed on the table next to the couch. There was a chuckle, the sound closer than it Emil had expected. A blanket was thrown over him by hands that were too big to be his brother's- it was Matthias.

"How is he sleeping? It's only seven thirty."

"Be glad he's asleep at all- I can tell that he hasn't been." Lukas' voice was worried.

So he knew. Emil wasn't so out of it that he couldn't see the obvious. Lukas tucked the blanket in. Worry wart.

"He'll be okay, Luke." Emil could picture the taller blonde putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I know. We'll figure it out," Lukas agreed, sounding weary.

They might have talked for a while after that, but the last thing that Emil remembered was a light kiss on his forehead and a click of the light switch before he fell asleep.

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**Hope you enjoyed, feel free to leave a review! *passes out***


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia! Enjoy.**

* * *

Emil woke up on the couch the next morning with a headache and a cramp in his neck. _I suppose I deserve that, for falling asleep on the couch..._

He pushed himself up and got ready for school. He was running late, as he usually woke up earlier via alarm clock. If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't be able to make it to school on time.

Of course, there was always the option of riding the bus or getting a ride from Matthias and Lukas... But Emil didn't particularly want that. After yesterday's confrontation, Emil was going to avoid his brother for as long as he could. Also, he wasn't sure that he was comfortable getting in a car again, as wimpy as it sounded.

He got up and got ready as fast as he could, stopping in the bathroom for the mirror. Emil carefully smeared some of the make up he'd bought the previous day onto his finger. This was ridiculous, having to wear make up like a girl just so that his brother would stop asking questions.

He made sure not to put too much on; it would look suspicious if the bags were completely gone in one day. The cosmetic was cold, but it dried quickly enough. Emil examined underneath his eyes carefully. With the help of concealer and the surprising amount of sleep that he'd gotten the night before, he looked like the typical teenager who had stayed up too late the night before. In other words, a hell of a lot better than he had yesterday.

Without so much as running a brush through his hair or eating any breakfast, Emil rushed out of the door. If he hurried, he could still make it on time. On time for him was a little earlier than school actually started; the campus was really very nice when it wasn't full of screaming, obnoxious teenagers. He liked to sit and soak up the silence that he so rarely received at home, basking in the early morning light.

The school's yard was still fairly peaceful when Emil arrived. Only a few students milled around, but they were the generally quieter kids that Emil didn't mind as much as the others. Sure, they were still obnoxious, but it was on a much lower level.

He found himself sitting on a small bench by the school building. It was slightly closed off in that area, and he wondered how he hadn't found it before. Ivy was starting to grow over the walls, like the school neglected to have the vines cleaned off of the building. That being said, Emil was grateful for it. It made the place seem less like a concrete jungle and more like someplace where plants could actually grow.

The bell was due to ring any minute, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the place quite yet. It was like something was holding him there, but he didn't know what it was. A sense of familiarity and the feeling that someone was watching him washed over him.

Emil stood, looking around. Like when he had entered the half-alcove, it was completely empty except for him. He was the only one there. _So why do I feel like..._

And then he looked up.

Eyes widening, he stepped toward the tree. "Li Xiao?"

Indeed, the Asian boy was sat in the tree, high above the ground. Well, not so high. Emil could probably scale up it to where he was easily.

He looked down, apparently not surprised that Emil was there. "Hey," Li Xiao greeted casually, leaning back in the tree.

"What are you doing up in that tree?" He asked, feeling mild irritation. How long had Li Xiao been there for? It had to have been longer than Emil had been there, because he hadn't come in the way that he had, and there was no other way to get in.

"Setting up firecrackers." Li Xiao climbed down a few branches before jumping out of the tree, landing neatly a few feet away from Emil.

"Firecrackers? Li Xiao, you'll set the tree on fire!" He crossed his arms. "Or the school, hálfviti."

The elder shrugged.

"What're you even setting them up for?"

"They're going to go off during second period, when Arthur's taking his exam." There was a glint of mischief in Li Xiao's eyes that simultaneously made Emil want laugh and join in and hide far, far away from anywhere that damage might be done.

"Why on earth would you do that?"

Li Xiao leaned back against the tree. "Why not? Besides, it won't hurt anybody."

Emil rolled his eyes. "Unless they happen to be outside. But just because you can, it doesn't mean that you should, you know!"

"Don't tell me you're one of those people who's always being a stick in the mud." Li Xiao smirked. "I don't think I could hang out with you if you were."

"H-hey! I am not a stick in the mud!" Emil yelled.

"When was the last time you've gone out and done something fun?"

Emil stuttered, and it was fairly obvious (even though he didn't want to admit it) that he wasn't the type of person to go out. He didn't even go out when Lukas asked him to. It usually took Lukas, Matthias, Tino, and Berwald to get him to leave the house. Even then, he was extremely reluctant. And it wasn't as if they were going to a nightclub or something; they usually just went to a restaurant or cafe in town. If he had friends, he probably wouldn't go out with them, either.

The bell rang then, saving Emil from suffering any more smugness on Li Xiao's part. He quickly gathered his bag and left, leaving Li Xiao without another thought. But not even a minute later, he had caught up, not saying anything as he joined Emil on the way into the building.

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**Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you liked the early update, and have a good night!**


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